9 hours ago
Grim update on underworld figure's bodyguard following broad daylight shooting in busy Sydney kebab shop
One of the victims of a brazen shooting in a kebab shop may 'never walk again'.
Two masked and hooded gunmen, dressed head to toe in black, sprinted into M Brothers in Auburn, in Sydney 's west, just after 1pm on Monday.
Samimjan Azari, 26, was hit in the arm and shoulder, 25-year-old Kali Taiseni was shot in the face and an innocent female shop employee, Yurdagul Aydogu, suffered two gunshot wounds to the torso.
Mr Taiseni, an aspiring footballer, was travelling with Azari when the shooting unfolded.
While he was hit in the face with a bullet, it has been revealed that shrapnel travelled through to his head to spine.
His loved ones were told he may never walk again, reported The Daily Telegraph.
Ms Aydogu, 47, remains in a medically induced coma but is expected to make a full recovery.
She underwent two round of surgery to remove the bullets from her body.
Azari also remains hospitalised for his arm and shoulder injuries.
The would-be assassins on Monday unleashed a volley of eight handgun shots as their victims tried to flee out the back, while another man attempted to fend them off with a chair.
Police believe Azari was the target of the attack due to his underworld links.
Azari has survived three prior attempts on his life - including being shot while he was riding in the back of a ute at Brighton Le Sands - and he was allegedly behind a heist at Condell Park in January.
In that incident, he allegedly sent two men to steal illegal tobacco valued at roughly $4.5million from a black market syndicate, but it turned into a violent kidnapping.
Three men were allegedly threatened with weapons, tied up, bashed and one of the men had his toe 'partially severed' in the attack which lasted up to half an hour. Officers are believed to have seized the cigarettes, Nine News reported.
Police believe this incident is why Azari is wanted dead and Detective Superintendent Jason Box believed he also escaped a planned attack last Friday.
'On this occasion, witnesses sighted a white ute with several occupants with their faces covered, and one occupant was believed to be holding a firearm,' he said.
Azari and his associates reportedly provided 'limited information'.
CCTV showed the aftermath of the kebab shop shooting, with NSW Ambulance paramedics treating the injured at the scene.
Diner owner Mohammed Rahimi revealed on Tuesday how he fought to save the life of staff cook Gul Yildiz, 47, as she lay bleeding from her wounds.
'There was a lot of blood,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'I was basically putting pressure [on them].'
He said he did not recognise the men who were shot in the hit, saying he sees a lot of customers each day.
But he said the gunmen knew their targets and told staff to get on the ground.
'After second gunshot, the power cut off, so the shop was dark,' he added.
'One of the staff, as soon as she hear a gunshot, she fell down. She was there behind the counter with another staff, and basically [the gunman] told [us] to get down.
The innocent victim caught in the crossfire is known in the community as a 'very good lady', locals told Daily Mail Australia.
She is currently in a coma at Westmead Hospital with her daughter by her side and is believed to be in a stable condition.
'It is beyond comprehension that three people were shot in a crowded Sydney street in broad daylight, and the resources of the NSW police have already been deployed,' Acting NSW Police Commissioner Peter Thurtell said.
Police recently warned that Azari was at the 'epicentre' of gangland tensions in the city.
During a press conference on Monday, police minister Yasmin Catley said the gunmen will be held accountable as she shared her anger at an innocent woman getting shot.
'All she did was go to work and she has been caught up in this shocking event,' she said.
'It's one thing for criminals to be shooting each other but when innocent people get caught up in this, it is absolutely abhorrent and we will not tolerate it.
'It's completely unacceptable that this sort of behaviour should happen in Sydney.'
'We will do everything we can to bring these gunmen to justice. It's as simple as that. We will make sure that we go and go until we bring these people to justice.'
Witnesses said two men with their faces covered entered the South Parade kebab shop and fired eight bullets.
At the time of the shooting, the area was bustling with people on their lunch break and heading to the nearby Auburn train station.
